


We're Better Together

by SilverMoonSky



Series: ML Oneshots [12]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Fluff, Heartwarming, M/M, Mentioned Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, One of my favorite ships and nothing will change that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22916047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/pseuds/SilverMoonSky
Summary: Marc is struggling with a bit of writer's block, but luckily Nathaniel is there to help him.
Relationships: Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Series: ML Oneshots [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643566
Comments: 4
Kudos: 101





	We're Better Together

**Author's Note:**

> This had been written for the prompt "Hot Chocolate" for January's rare pair month.

Marc hunched over his notebook, letting out a sigh as he nibbled lightly at the eraser on the top of his pencil. He stared numbly at the numerous blank pages in front of him. It had been nearly a month since he and Nathaniel had published their last comic book, and Marc was facing writer’s block. He had absolutely no idea what to do for their next edition. Nathaniel was counting on him to write up the scenes so he could draw them, but the fact that he had no idea what to do was extremely frustrating.

And it definitely didn't help that these days, Marc couldn’t be near Nathaniel without embarrassing himself one way or the other. Stumbling over his words, tripping over his feet, asking stupid questions. . . . and every time he stuttered out an apology, his face as red as his companion’s hair, Nathaniel would merely smile and laugh it off. Then Marc would start to laugh too.

Marinette had asked him one day when the two of them would stop dancing around each other. Marc told her that he had no idea what she was talking about. But he  _ did  _ know. He knew and accepted the warm feeling in his chest whenever Nathaniel was around. He liked the way his heart raced when their eyes met, those days when they stayed after school to work on their comics and their hands would knock against one another’s, and he absolutely  _ loved _ Nath’s grin, his kind personality, everything about him, and he couldn’t help but hope that the redheaded boy felt the same way about him. . . .

But that was silly. There was no way Nathaniel saw Marc like that. They were friends, partners who worked on a comic book together. That was all that there was between them.

Marc blinked absentmindedly at the blank pages before letting out a groan and dropped his head against his arms, the pencil clattering onto the desk. This was  _ so _ stupid. Feelings  _ sucked _ . Marc closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against his wrists. He repeated the same mantra in his mind that he’d been doing for months.

_ Nathaniel is just a friend. Nath is just a friend. It doesn’t matter that he makes you blush whenever you make eye contact, or makes you smile when your hands brush against each other’s. He’s just a friend. You’re just a friend to him. That’s not going to change, it will never change, because you’re  _ you _ , and you’re not special, you’re not-- _

“Hey Marc,” a voice said, jerked him out of his thoughts. Startled, Marc’s head snapped up to meet Nathaniel’s blue eyes. “I saw you from outside. What’re you doing here all by yourself?”

“Oh, um,” the black haired boy stammered, flushing with color, “I--I’m working on the script for our newest comic book.”

“Cool! Can I see what you have so far?” Nathaniel grinned at him. Marc noticed two mugs in his hands, and the blue eyed boy followed his gaze. “Oh, when I saw you in here, I decided to get some hot chocolate for the both of us. If you want it, that is,” he added.

“Oh, no no no,” Marc said, shaking his head vigorously. He immediately forgot about the sweet chocolate smell as soon as he’d processed the question. “it’s not good. I--I don’t have much done. You won’t want to see it.” He hugged his notebook to his chest protectively.

The redhead tilted his head thoughtfully to the side. “Are you sure? We can work on it together if you’d like. I know you usually face writer’s block after we publish our last edition, so maybe we could brainstorm together?”

Marc hesitated, biting his lip as he took in the boy in front of him. On one hand, he was really struggling and could use a little something--or  _ someone _ \--to motivate him. On the other hand, he didn't want to bother Nathaniel, and he probably would distract Marc from focusing, but it wasn’t like he was focused when Nathaniel  _ wasn’t _ in the room anyway. . . .

“Okay,” he said, blushing once again when Nathaniel smiled excitedly. “If--if that’s not a problem for you.”

“Of course it’s not,” Nathaniel said, taking a seat beside him. He set a cup of hot chocolate in front of the black haired boy, and he took it. “Drink up. You need to loosen up a bit.”

“Thanks,” Marc murmured, taking a long sip before letting out a deep sigh. “That really helps.”

“So,” Nathaniel prompted, taking a sip from his own mug, “writer’s block, right?”

“Yeah.” Marc nodded. “I’m not really sure what to do after this part.” He pointed at some of the loose ideas he’d scribbled out earlier.

Nathaniel scrunched his eyebrows, thinking. Marc watched him as he contemplated the situation. Suddenly Nath’s face lit up and he exclaimed, “oh I know! Why don’t we do this?” He began to articulate his ideas to Marc, and he nodded along, because of course, those ideas were  _ perfect _ .

“Yes, that could work!” Marc said excitedly. “And then after that, we could do this. . . .”

“Of course, we’d need to do this as well--” Nathaniel added.

“Oh, and if we expand this part, it could make the entire scene better--”

And so the two of them continued to talk about the tales of Ladybug, Chat Noir, Mighty Illustrator, and Reverser. It wasn’t long before Marc had several pages filled with writing, Nathaniel leaning over him with a hand on his shoulder. The hot chocolate mugs were long empty, and though the room itself was cold, Marc felt warm all over.

So maybe what he felt for Nathaniel was something more than what he’d feel for a normal friend. Maybe one day he’d find the courage to finally open up to the redhead about his feelings. But for now, what mattered was their friendship. What mattered was the bond they shared. Marc was a writer on his own, and Nathaniel was an artist. But together? They created comics that so many people loved and enjoyed.

They were better as a team, and they knew it.


End file.
